Archive for sexual positions

Yoga is a healthy and sophisticated form of exercise, which in the Western world is mainly practiced by women. Historically, however, there is a very close connection between yoga and Tantric Sex, as William Broad pointed out in the New York Times: The discipline began as a sex cult… Hatha yoga — the parent of the styles now practiced around the globe — began as a branch of Tantra… Hatha originated as a way to speed the Tantric agenda. It used poses, deep breathing and stimulating acts — including intercourse — to hasten rapturous bliss.

Some yoga poses are more obviously related to Kamasutra-style sexual intercourse than others. The posture illustrated above is called yoganidrasana, and if performed naked it is one of the most provocative positions a woman can adopt. By allowing deep penetration of the yoni, the yoganidrasana posture can form the basis of prolonged and highly satisfying copulation if a suitably energetic male partner is available.

In the Missionary Position of sexual intercourse, the woman lies passively on her back with her legs apart, and the man thrusts his penis in and out of her vagina. The Amazon Position, illustrated here, is the exact opposite of this. It is named after the ruthless female warriors of ancient Greek mythology, the Amazons, who required complete control over their submissive male partners. To this end, the man lies passively on his back with his legs apart, while the woman grips his penis with her powerful vaginal muscles and thrusts energetically back and forth, mimicking the traditional “fucking” action of the male.

Ceramic pieces featuring couples engaged in sexual intercourse are frequently sold to curiosity-seekers in Mexico. They are thought to be of approximately the same age as the Olmec culture (approx. 1500 to 400 BC). It is possible these were made as teaching aids to demonstrate different sex positions, like the more famous Indian Kama Sutra.

Taoist Sex is the ancient Chinese equivalent of Tantric Sex. But whereas Tantra is the Way of the Goddess, Taoist Sex is focused more on enhancing the health and longevity of the male participant. While the sexual positions of the Kama Sutra are designed to heighten and prolong the pleasures of the female , their Taoist equivalents are aimed more at the pleasure of the male. This is particularly apparent in the position illustrated here (in a Japanese shunga print of the late eighteenth century), in which a man is copulating simultaneously with two female partners. In this position, called “two dancing phoenixes”, one female lies on top of the other, both spreading their legs so that their vaginas (referred to in Taoism as “yin gates”) are easily accessible to alternate thrusts of the man’s erect penis (“yang spear”).

Yab-Yum is the fundamental position of Tantric sex. The male partner, representing the God Shiva, sits cross-legged while the female partner, representing the Goddess Shakti, lowers her yoni (vulva) onto his erect lingam (penis) and commences to ride him for an extended session of gentle, face-to-face sexual intercourse. This symbolism is derived from Hindu Tantra, in which the female deity is seen as spiritually and physically superior to the male.

In Buddhism the situation is rather different. As shown on the left, the female partner, referred to as a “consort”, is physically much smaller than the Buddha. While artistic representations of this type are also called “Yab-Yum”, they are not meant as a practical sexual technique but as an aid to meditation. The male figure signifies wisdom and the female compassion, while the act of copulation represents the mystical union of these two fundamental principles.

The photograph depicts one of the many explicitly sexual carvings that can be seen on the walls of the Lakshmana Temple at Khajuraho in central India. This is one of several Hindu temples at the Khajuraho complex, dating from about a thousand years ago, that are decorated with erotic sculptures of this type. They are often described as a “Kama Sutra in stone”, but this is an understatement. The Kama Sutra is predominantly concerned with monogamous, heterosexual intercourse performed by married couples in the privacy of their own homes. The Khajuraho sculptures, on the other hand, depict orgiastic scenes of group sex such as the one seen here. Given their location on a temple, it is likely that they refer to religious rituals rather than purely sensual or hedonistic activities.

Disclaimer

This blog is intended for Mature Readers only. Its main purpose is to provide a source of adult erotic entertainment. Anyone seeking an authoritative, comprehensive account of the subjects covered should consult Wikipedia or a similar reference resource.

About Me

Alvin Avalon is a writer specializing in New Age sexuality. He is the author of several ebooks including Sex Meditation, Secrets of Mystical Sex and Orgone Shiatsu.